Hornets Venom GT Targeting Playoff Bye in Final Week of the Regular Season
August 11, 2021
By Sam Perley
- Hornets Venom GT (17-7) at Celtics Crossover Gaming (11-13)
- Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at 9 PM EDT
- NBA 2K League Twitch and YouTube Channels
- Last time out: Hornets Venom GT won, 56-50 on May 19, 2021 (THE TIPOFF)
Playoff-Bound Hornets Venom GT Closing Regular Season with Another Back-to-Back
Charlotte wrapped up its second consecutive NBA 2K League Playoff berth in as many seasons of existence following a loss by the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai last Friday night. With Hornets Venom GT now sitting second in the Eastern Conference, top-seeded Wizards District Gaming (21-5) might be just out of reach, but the squad will still hold its current position by going 2-2 this week and grabbing the other first-round bye.
2/2 #Clinched
See everybody in Dallas! ➡️🛫 pic.twitter.com/p9rWF2vOm8
— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) August 7, 2021
From a personnel standpoint, look for Hornets Venom GT to get point guard Justin “Sherm” Sherman going on the offensive end. The third-year veteran has been masterful when it comes to facilitating this season (eighth in the 2KL with 10.1 APG), although has hit a dry spell recently in the scoring department (15.8 PTS on 44.9% shooting and 32.4% from three-point range over his last four games).
Celtics Crossover Gaming Looking to Sustain Late-Season Turnaround
While Boston is probably out of the playoff picture at this point, the squad has picked up momentum in recent weeks as it heads into a likely appearance in next week’s THE TICKET. Celtics Crossover Gaming started the season 5-10, but has since gone 6-3, a stretch in which all nine games were decided by single-digit margins.
One area to focus on in this matchup is Boston’s underwhelming assist-to-turnover ratio. The team is currently dishing out the fourth-fewest dimes of any 2K League team (16.5), while coughing it up 6.6 times per contest, the sixth-highest rate. From a strictly statistical perspective, ball moment (or lack thereof) seems to be an ongoing issue for Celtics Crossover Gaming this season.
Opposing Player to Watch: Sheriff “FT” Cruz
Point guard FT is making the most of his first full NBA 2K League season, currently leading the team in scoring at 22.0 points on 53.7% and 50.2% shooting from the field and three, respectively. Also notably averaging under two turnovers per outing, FT has scored at least 25 points in six consecutive games, a run that includes a season-high 37-point outburst against 76ers GC last Saturday night.
Check out some of @xFTWx6 top plays from Saturday night! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/ukOBDdaZQ9
— CLTX Gaming (@CLTXGaming) August 9, 2021